Liability in classic one-site actions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), where the facility at which both the release or threatened release of hazardous substances and the incurrence of response costs are one and the same, is pretty...

In Town of Acton v. W.R. Grace & Co., a federal district court held that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), commonly known as Superfund, preempts local cleanup bylaws. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) had...

Alcohol and holidays. They go together like marshmallows and a fire. But when revelry turns to tragedy, individuals and companies alike may find themselves facing a lawsuit where their action (or inaction) in relation to the alcohol may be key to their defense. Recent California case law in this...

On October 30, 2014, the Ninth Circuit upheld the District Court’s finding that the State Route 47 Expressway Project, a planned 1.7 mile stretch of elevated highway connecting the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to I-405, did not violate the Clean Air Act or the National Environmental...

In 1969, stirred by Congress’ passage of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), California thought it was doing one better. California passed the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) which requires state and local agencies to identify the significant environmental impacts of...

In 1994, in response to the devastating drought of the late 1980s and early 1990s, the California Department of Water Resources and the State Water Project contractors entered into the so-called “Monterey Agreement,” regarding water deliveries to certain contractors, primarily in...

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) is a strict liability statute. Nonetheless, CERCLA provides for a limited number of defenses to liability. One of these defenses is called the “bona fide prospective purchaser” exception to...

In Otay Ranch v. County of San Diego, (2014) 230 Cal.App.4th 60, the court of appeals affirmed a trial court’s award of $44,621.28 in costs and expenses to a County related to preparation of the administrative record in a CEQA appeal. The petitioner in the CEQA action, who now had to pay the...

In CERCLA cases, courts are often confronted with scenarios where it is unclear precisely which cause of action a party can or must pursue to recover incurred cleanup costs against Potential Responsible Parties (“PRPs”). Whether a party must proceed under two critical sections (107(a)...

In September, employment laws in California saw a change when Governor Brown signed two bills that affect employers under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). The FEHA now extends its protections regarding discrimination and harassment to unpaid interns. Employers with fifty or...